Another great saying...

Perseverance is a great element of success.
If you only knock long enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
-- Longfellow

November Election

Yes, I am running for Town Council (again). I took some time off from my last stint sitting on the Council Board, but feel it is time to get back on the horse again.
The people running in Dexter are as follows:

The following individuals will be on the ballot:
TOWN COUNCIL: (Three positions for 3-Year terms):
Judith W. Craig
Diana L. Fillmore (withdrawn)
Peter A. Haskell
Ella L. Munday
Erlfred W. Sherburne
Albert C. Tempesta
Dean R. Thompson.
Council Terms expiring are: Fred Banks, Fred Sherburne and Dean Thompson
Because Councilors can only serve 2 consecutive three-year terms, Fred Banks is not able to run this year. Fred Sherburne and Dean Thompson are seeking re-election to their seats.

SAD #46: (One position for 2-Year term). This position is to fill the un-expired term of Richard A. McInnis who resigned for health reasons:
Patricia M. Smith
SAD #46: (One position for 3-Year term). This position is to fill
the seat vacated by Shawn Lancaster last March (whose term would have expires in 2007). Jill Jones has filled that un-expired term until this election:
There were no papers filed to fill that position.

DEXTER UTILITY DISTRICT: (Two positions for 3-Year terms):
Robert E. Crawford
Hartland L. Cushman
Francis L. Kaufman
The terms on the Utility District Trustees which are expiring are Bob Crawford and Harland Cushman who are seeking re-election to their seats.

All elections in Dexter will now be held at the Town Hall.

Please find out what candidate best represents your thoughts, ideas & community and please Vote in November!

Town Council Minutes from August

Morning;
I am providing a link to the Town of Dexter's Council meeting minutes, but would like make my own amendment to the minutes during Public Forum. I know mistakes can be made, it is only human, but once they are approved by the council, they can not be altered.

So here goes, during the meeting, which was only 4 days after Wild West, no mentioned was made about Wild West Weekend and how successful it was. So I wanted to publicly thank Highway Department Mike Delaware, Police Chief Art Roy AND facilities Duke Leighton. Another person was named, but I didn't thank that person:, but Duke needs to be thank too!

I am not trying to be finicky, but I definitely want Duke recognized.

Click here for the August 09th Council Minutes. To read about public forum, scroll down through. It is near the end of the minutes.
Have a great day!
Judy

Fall Flowers

Last night, Darlene and I decorated the Main Street and the Heart Garden for fall.
Last Thursday we ordered 20 pots of hardy chrysanthemums from Roger at Spring Street Greenhouse.

Roger gave us a great price on these hardy mums and they should make Main Street more festive for the next month or so, or until frost hits.
We probably could have used more, but I thought that would do a good enough job. This money does come from the Flower Fund ($1500 for the year, July 2007 to June 2008) from the town budget and we have to save most of it for next spring. We try to make the money stretch as much as possible, we only pay for some product, but all the labor is free.
We ordered new planter earlier this year, so they will be filled next spring.

Once we got started planting, we realized we needed water, so I made an emergency 'water call' to Dad and Marilyn and they brought down 26 gallon jugs in the trunk of the car, and saved the day!

We also filled the bench pots with mums, which we built last year. I hope people sit on the benches and enjoy our pretty Main Street and the fall flowers.

It is wonderful seeing so many people decorate their businesses and home for all the seasons. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, although I really dread the winter months and no outdoor flowers. But it gives us more time to pour over the flower/seed books and plan & plot for the next planting season.

Feel free to dump some water on the posies if you see them dry!

Submitted to TheDailyME

"It's amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude
of hypocrites." -Thomas Sowell

Support Appreciated

Since my last post, I have received numerous emails, phone calls and stopping in the street encouragement.

When we take a stand, it is putting yourselves in a precarious position. You know you are doing the right thing, but you know people are going to talk. It is very uncomfortable, BUT if you stick to honesty, facts and figures, TRUTH WILL PREVAIL.

If we all stand together, the impact with make our town officials take notice. PLEASE contact your councilors, come to meetings, talk to employees. We only want what is right for our community. We aren't trying to make trouble, we are just trying to do the right thing.

Thank you all for your support.
Judy

Thought of the Day

Courage is the greatest of all the virtues.
Because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English Author

Community Involvement

Isn't it funny how a saying comes to you at the appropriate time? I found this saying recently and it inspired me to write this letter.

“Decide on what you think is right, and stick to it.” by George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist

I will start out by saying, like many other locals, I love my community of Dexter. My family of many generations have lived, worked and believed in our community and have been involved with other 'like minded people' in making Dexter a better place to live, work and raise our families.

My daughters are now grown and are creating their own stamp in life, so it is my time to give back to my community. Sometimes it is very consuming, but at the end of the day, I am rewarded by seeing flowers growing in town, successful horse shows, my work with Dexter Reg. Development Corporation, successful Wild West Weekends and even Easter Hat Parades with glowing children's faces.

I feel that our town has always been compassionate and value our Town Employees. I have consistently been attending meetings expressing my concern about the employees, who through no fault of their own when reporting they are very sick, were terminated or are currently being terminated from their jobs. OR they resigned so they don't have to go through the embarrassment.

While I am uncomfortable in taking such a public stand, I felt it was time to get out of my comfort zone, and do something about it!

I am not pleased with the way some of the top town officials are conducting town business. I respectfully ask the questions, why is everything such a secret & behind closed doors, gag orders given or done in executive session? (Not just the employees' situation). Why are there double answers; depending who is asking the question, or no answers at all?

While I know that everyone has the right to their own opinion, those opinions should be well thought out and informed when expressing them in public. That is why I and many others now attend meetings and are asking questions, to become informed.

Last Thursday, September 13th, during a lengthy monthly Town Council meeting, the Public Forum took place. There were many people in the audience and we had lots of questions to ask. We sat through a long discussion one gentleman had, but then in a blink, the public forum was closed and Executive Session was announced.

We all sat there in disbelief. The public forum never really was official closed as far as we could tell. It appeared to most of us it ended by the Council Chair saying, "Is that it?” We thought he was addressing the person in the audience who had been speaking.

I would like to ask or maybe even challenge you, Dexter Residents and taxpayers to come to Council meetings. Call your councilors, ask question and demand answers. Find out for yourself what the mystery is. After all, it is our tax dollars being spent by our Council, who we voted for, and our Town Manager, who works for the Council and us.

Are you ready to come out of your comfort zone?

Join us the 2nd Thursday of the month, 7 pm at the Dexter Town Council Chambers for the monthly meetings.

Respectfully,
Judy